The European Union will suspend sanctions against Syria
Agence France-Presse, citing European diplomats, reported that the European Union will suspend sanctions against Syria next Monday. Based on this, banking, energy, and transportation sanctions will be suspended to aid Syria’s reconstruction process after the fall of Assad.
According to this report, diplomats say that if the new Syrian leaders break their promises to respect minority rights and move towards democracy, these sanctions could be re-imposed. The new Syrian leaders have repeatedly asked the West to lift the sanctions imposed on the country during Bashar al-Assad’s rule.
However, Western countries had been waiting to see how determined the new rulers, led by Islamists in Damascus, are in carrying out the power transition process based on fundamental human rights principles, supporting ethnic and religious minority rights, and implementing an inclusive and comprehensive process.
